The six books of the Dune series, written by Frank Herbert, have earned their place as one of the great works of speculative fiction.
The series is universe-creation on a grand scale. Dozens of characters, hundreds of plot lines, thousands of years and trillions of inhabitants populate the pages of the series. The story teems with all the elements of a good page turner: secret societies, thrilling battles, fascinating heroes and repulsive villains. Herbert borrows ideas widely from a range of sources, from the messiah-myth common to many human religions to the dystopic nightmare visions of peace imposed at any cost.
At its core is the future history of the human race, now spread widely across the universe. Through painful experience, humanity has learned to set strict limits on the independence of cybernetic systems, and as a result of this careful control of computing ability, has explored the depths and capabilities of the human mind. In one direction, the computational and rational abilities of the mind-as-calculating device result in the Mentats, an Order dedicated to the notion that the human mind is inherently superior to any machine, and that a machine which apes the power of the human mind is an abomination in itself. In another direction, the ancient order of the Bene Gesserit, the "Reverend Mothers," has dedicated itself to the refinement of the emotional and extrasensory abilities of the mind. Through training, self-knowledge and a high order of discipline, the Bene Gesserit are capable of exerting, at will, the maximum potential of power, grace and control inherent in the human body. Their superb powers of observation and knowledge of the human mind and body allow them to influence, manipulate, flatter, seduce and outright control those with whom they come in contact, and they have used their abilities over centuries to breed in or weed out human qualities as they choose.
In this universe, even interstellar travel is a function of the human mind. The Spacing Guild holds a total monopoly on interstellar travel and commerce through the services of their Navigators, the only beings capable of successfully guiding a vessel through the dimension of "folded space" used to bypass the lightspeed limit.
The series, from start to finish, is rich in intrigue. Noble Houses scheme against each other, against the Emperor, against the CHOAM company, which controls the trade in the mind-expanding, life-extending drug melange, and against the the various powerful Orders, Societies and cabals of the universe.
In a story covering thousands of years, it is impossible, even with the technology of the future and the life extension of melange, to tell the tale through the eyes of one character, but Herbert is an able creator of interesting and unique protagonists. Leto, Paul and Leto II Atreides are each strong, individual and powerful men in their own right, and Herbert succeeds in both individualizing them and demonstrating the common family thread of confidence and integrity. Strong female characters with minds and abilities of their own are key players at every stage of the series, with motives both selfish and selfless. Herbert holds the story together with institutions, ideas and plots that survive from millennium to millennium.
In the sense of ideas, the series in not revolutionary. Space travel, mental abilities and colonization of other planets; all ideas which have been explored in more detail elsewhere, and all ideas that existed long before Herbert chose to weave them into his world. The excellence in the Dune series arises entirely through Herbert's strong plotting and characterization, and the truly clean, workmanlike quality of his writing. Frank Herbert does not seem to have striven for breathtaking prose or captivating imagery, and as a result the writing never gets in the way of the story.
Upon his death, the rights to the Dune Universe passed to his son, Brian Herbert, who has written extensively, in partnership with Kevin J. Anderson, in the Dune Universe. Although many of the same plot elements exist and are developed in the prequels, the plotting and, strikingly, the writing are in a very different style. The prequel series supply a wealth of information and fill out the details of the universe, but the Dune series will forever draw its true strength from the works of Frank Herbert himself.